Stocking wearing aid

ABSTRACT

Quarter-cylindrical bodies are attached to two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body, respectively so as to form a cylindrical part, the rectangular flat body is covered with a sacklike body, and other end of the sacklike body is used as a manually-operated strap. A stocking is preliminary set on the cylindrical bodies, a user throws the cylindrical bodies covered with the stocking forward, and inserts the tiptoe into the cylindrical bodies while manually pulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap. The user can wear the stocking by further manually pulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap. In addition, a meshing mechanism is provided on opposing edges of the cylindrical bodies to facilitate setting the stocking and wearing of the stocking.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an aid that enables a user to wear astocking easily while having fun.

BACKGROUND ART

An aid that enables an elderly or walking-disabled person to easily wearstockings is desired since it is often difficult for such person to wearstockings. Various ideas have been conventionally proposed for aids ofthis type.

By way of example, there is known an invention disclosed in JapaneseUnexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-125326. However, the invention isconfigured to include many springs, hard and long plates as well as manyother parts. Due to this, the aid is inevitably heavy and poor inoperability and possibly harms the Furthermore, since one stocking issandwiched between left and right sides, it is disadvantageouslynecessary to use a pair of aids and simultaneously manipulate the pairedaids in order to wear one stocking.

Moreover, a little child or school child often hates to wear stockingsbecause the child wants to run around with bare feet. Due to this, somecaregivers find difficulties in urging such a little child or schoolchild to wear stockings every day. Further, some elderly persons are soself-helpful that they want to at least wear stockings by themselveseven though they require nursing care.

It is favorable if such a person can use an aid that enables him or herin such situations to easily wear stockings while having fun.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The present invention has been made under the above-stated circumstancesand it is an object of the present invention to provide a stockingwearing aid that is small in the number of constituent parts and thatenables a person to use the aid easily.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an aid thatenables an elderly person, a walking-disabled person or even a little orschool child to easily wear a stocking while having fun.

Means for Solving the Problems

There is provided a stocking wearing aid wherein quarter-cylindricalbodies are attached to two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body,respectively so as to form a cylindrical part, the rectangular flat bodyis covered with a sacklike body, and other end of the sacklike body isused as a manually-operated strap.

According to this aid, a stocking is covered up on the cylindricalbodies and set, a user throws a stocking part forward while gripping thesacklike body and the end of the strap, the user inserts the tiptoe intothe cylindrical bodies while manually pulling the sacklike body and theend of the strap, and the user further manually pulls the sacklike bodyand the strap ends. By doing so, the user can wear the stocking.

When the stocking is to be covered up on the cylindrical bodies of theaid, a diameter of the cylindrical part formed by the cylindrical bodiesis set smaller in advance. After the stocking is covered up on thecylindrical bodies, the diameter of the cylindrical part is set larger,the opposing edges of the cylindrical bodies are meshed with each other,and the diameter of the cylindrical part is kept large. This facilitatesthe user wearing the stocking.

The sacklike body covered up on the rectangular flat body is decoratedwith an appliqué, a pattern of a popular character or the like for alittle or school child, a design suitable for elderly persons for anelderly person or the like. It is thereby possible for the user to wearthe stocking easily while having fun.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

The user can use the aid safely since the number of constituent parts issmall and a hard material that possibly harms the user's body is not atall used.

The stocking wearing aid according to the present invention enables theuser to wear a stocking quite easily as follows.

The stocking is set onto the aid in advance as shown in FIG. 4. Thissetting operation is simple. Alternatively, a caretaker or caregiver canset the stocking in advance.

When the user is to wear the stocking, the user throws a stocking partforward while gripping the sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIG.5), inserts the tiptoe into the cylindrical bodies while manuallypulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIG. 6), and furthermanually pulls the sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIGS. 7 and8), whereby the user is completed with wearing the stocking. Theoperation of manual pulling can be performed even with a single hand.

At this time, if the user sits on a chair or the like, the user canperform wearing operation more easily.

If the stocking is set in advance, the user can use the aid at desiredtime, which is particularly convenient for the caregiver having a hecticday of taking care of a little or school child.

Moreover, the aid is simple and small in size and decorated. Due tothis, the aid brings about no obstacle even if being put at a locationwhere the user and the others live ordinary lives and the user does notneed to care for where to store the aid.

Furthermore, it is quite easy even for the little or school child toperform the behavior of manually pulling the sacklike body of the aidand the end of the strap. The operation itself is also a pleasantmotion. In addition, if the aid is decorated with a pattern of a popularcartoon, a popular character or the like, the user can positively wear astocking while having more fun.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a stocking wearing aid according toembodiment 1 (a first embodiment);

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a stocking wearing aid according toembodiment 2 (a second embodiment);

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a meshing mechanismprovided on opposing edges of cylindrical bodies;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state of setting a stocking ontothe stocking wearing aid;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state of throwing the stockingwearing aid forward when a user is to wear a stocking using the stockingwearing aid;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state of inserting a tiptoe intocylindrical bodies of the stocking wearing aid;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of starting to manuallypull the stocking wearing aid; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the stockingwearing aid starts to be displaced from the stocking, shank and calf.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   10 Stocking wearing aid    -   11 Cylindrical body (1)    -   12 Cylindrical body (2)    -   13 Rectangular flat body    -   15 Sacklike body    -   20 Stocking

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a stocking wearing aid according to embodiment 1 (a firstembodiment) of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a stocking wearing aid according to embodiment 2 (a secondembodiment) of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a meshing mechanism provided on opposingedges of cylindrical bodies.

FIG. 4 shows a state of setting a stocking onto the stocking wearing aidaccording to the present invention.

FIGS. 5 to 8 show a process of user's wearing the stocking using thestocking wearing aid according to the present invention.

Cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 each close to a quarter-circle are attachedto two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body 13, respectively so asto oppose each other and to form a cylindrical part. The cylindricalbodies 11 and 12 oppose each other with a gap kept therebetween. A shapeof the rectangular flat body may be a shape (shown in FIG. 1)corresponding to a sole of a normally used slipper or may be a rectangleas shown in FIG. 2. Further, it suffices to use only one aid since theaid can be used for both left and right stockings. It suffices to use amaterial of the normally used slipper as a material used for therectangular flat body.

Shapes of the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 are decided while consideringa shape of a tiptoe part. However, the shapes are decided also inconsideration of a shape of a shank part since a stocking 20 passesthrough the shank part when a user wears the stocking 20. Furthermore, amaterial and the shapes of the cylindrical bodies are decided so thatthe cylindrical bodies oppose each other with the gap kept therebetweenwhen the aid is not used, and so as to be able to hold the shape of thepart into which the tiptoe is inserted without gap when setting of thestocking is over (FIG. 4). The cylindrical bodies are halves formed bydividing a portion of the normally used slipper covered up on a footinto two. Therefore, the material of the slipper is insufficient for thematerial used for the cylindrical bodies and a thicker material havinghigher rigidity is used for the cylindrical bodies. Moreover, higherstrength is required for portions of the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12which portions are attached to the rectangular flat body 13 compared tothe normally used slipper.

To facilitate holding the state, a meshing mechanism, for example, ispreferably provided on the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 as shown in FIG.3. Specifically, when the stocking 20 is to be covered up on thecylindrical part of the aid, a diameter of the cylindrical part is setsmaller in advance. After covering up the stocking 20 on the cylindricalpart of the aid, the diameter of the cylindrical part is set larger (astate shown in FIG. 3), and the opposing edges of the cylindrical bodiesare meshed with each other while keeping the diameter of the cylindricalpart large. This can facilitate user's wearing the stocking.

When the rectangular flat body 13 is covered to form a sack shape (whichstate will be referred to as “sacklike body 15”, hereinafter), the stateis shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 maybe covered with the sacklike body 15 (FIG. 2). It is rather preferableto cover the cylindrical bodies with the sacklike body 15 since thismakes the user's foot more slippery on the aid and the aid isdecoratively superior. A portion of the sacklike body 15 with which theuser's foot contacts is preferably made of a material having lowfriction and high slipperiness.

The sacklike body 15 can be appropriately decorated with a pattern of apopular cartoon, a popular character or the like for a little or schoolchild, or decorated with a pattern suitable for an elderly person (notshown in detail).

When the user is to wear the stocking 20, the stocking is covered up onthe cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 as shown in FIG. 4, and the user throwsthe cylindrical part covered with the stocking forward while grippingthe sacklike body 15 and the end of a strap 17 (FIG. 5). Then the userinserts the tiptoe into the cylindrical bodies while manually pullingthe sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIG. 6), and the userfurther manually pulls the strap (FIG. 7). As a result, the user's footslides within the cylindrical bodies, departs from the stocking wearingaid 10 together with the stocking, and the stocking wearing aid is soondisplaced from the shank and calf (FIG. 8), thereby the user iscompleted with a series of operation. Since the operation for manuallypulling the end of the strap is simple and does not require so strongpower, the user can perform the operation even single-handed.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Since the present invention aids in a behavior essential for ordinarylife, that is, wearing of the stocking, the applicable field of theinvention is wide, and it is possible to lessen the labor of a caregiverof a little or school child. Further, it is effective to make an elderlyperson independent, and it is possible to lessen the burden of acaretaker. Therefore, industrial applicability of the present inventionis quite high.

Furthermore, if the present invention is made a commercial reality, theinvention helps reenergizing small manufacturers and is, therefore,industrially useful.

1. A stocking wearing aid wherein quarter-cylindrical bodies areattached to two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body, respectivelyso as to form a cylindrical part, the rectangular flat body is coveredwith a sacklike body, and other end of the sacklike body is used as amanually-operated strap.
 2. The stocking wearing aid according to claim1, wherein a meshing mechanism is provided on opposing edges of thequarter-cylindrical bodies.